Do any of you have thoughts or expertise on what it would take to convert a Disco 2 to electric?

Would it be possible to adapt an electrical motor onto the existing gearbox/transfer case? What would the major complications and problems be? How would an electric truck perform offroad?

I'm not planning to do this, but am curious whether there's anything that immediately rules it out. I've looked at some kits and videos and have seen people have converted Defenders, so presumably it's possible.

 

You need to run a very long extension cord. . Lol!
But, i think its possible but it will cost a lot. Just the battery array alone. To start, the disco is heavy for its size. I cant imagine the extra weight combined with the batteries. I have no idea if there are 4x4 electic. Cheers!

 

Guys in the Porsche world are doing it with 911's, But you are talking about cars that weight 3600 lbs on the top end.



With that weight, guys were averaging 60 miles. to a charge. I would imagine with all the additional space for batteries, you may be able to get a little more.
But then lies the old adage, more weight, less miles. And you are already starting with an extremely heavy vehicle to begin with. 4400 lbs on average without overland gear (Bumpers, winches, roof racks, etc)

Would be fun to have, my commute is 20 miles a day. 60 miles would be overkill, but would limit how far you can really go.

You could eliminate the exhaust system and put batteries in its place, a ton in the engine compartment, fuel tank area

http://www.electric-cars-are-for-gir...rsion-kit.html

But as this website says, not advisable for us due to the weight and drag of the 4X4 system.

 

You may want to look into the Hammerhead Eagle i-Thrust conversion

 

HAAHAHAHAAHAHAAHAHAAHAHAHAAAAA

 

Yeah, I imagine the cost to achieve a decent range without adding insane amounts of battery weight would be the big issue.

It would still be fun to experiment with, if I had a lot of money and time. I've read about some people swapping Nissan Leaf motors to do conversions, though you'd have to find a way to scale up the power for it to work on a Disco for sure.

 

how much money you got to spend?

Arnold Schwarzenegger's New Electric G-Wagen Does 0-60 in 5.6 Silent Seconds

 

I'm not sure how much that cost, but I'm sure it was a boatload. I'd spend, let's say, $15k for parts and supply the labor myself. I'd probably need:

1) a new manual gearbox (I have auto, which I assume won't work). Used let's say it'd be $1k, but could probably be had for much less.
2) the electric motor(s) -- not sure what would be ideal, maybe a kit like this for $9k: Curtis 1239e-8521 HPEVS Dual AC-35 Brushless Motor Kit - 144 Volt, EV West - Electric Vehicle Parts, Components, EVSE Charging Stations, Electric Car Conversion Kits or something like this for the same amount, which seems to have been used in vans: 200KW Dual Siemens Azure AC Induction 3 Phase Motor 1PV5135 4WS14, EV West - Electric Vehicle Parts, Components, EVSE Charging Stations, Electric Car Conversion Kits
3) Some kind of motor controller, maybe this for $3,000: Evnetics Soliton 1, EV West - Electric Vehicle Parts, Components, EVSE Charging Stations, Electric Car Conversion Kits
4) Batteries. It looks like to get some decent range you'd need to spend easily $13k. Enerdel MP320-049 24 kWh Battery Pack Built for HPEVS 144V System, EV West - Electric Vehicle Parts, Components, EVSE Charging Stations, Electric Car Conversion Kits
5) An adaptor to hook up the motor to the existing drivetrain...you'd probably have to custom-make this, say $500 as an estimate.
6) A battery-charging device to charge up your batteries. $2k or so. Manzanita Micro PFC 20M Charger, EV West - Electric Vehicle Parts, Components, EVSE Charging Stations, Electric Car Conversion Kits
7) A charging station/plug-in equipment, budget $1k.
8) Hoses/fittings/etc. budget another $1k. I'm not sure how you'd do A/C and I guess wouldn't include it.

Altogether it'd probably actually be around $30k based on this. Maybe there's a way to do it cheaper, though. EV West offers a kit for $7k to convert old VWs. I dunno.

 

Yeeeaaa, I checked out after you said 15K in parts...

Give it a couple years, prices will go down, conversions will be cheaper as electric cars become more of the forefront. (opinion, not fact... for all the argument starters)

 

To extend the thought exercise further, wouldn't it ultimately be more sensible to direct drive each wheel independently and manage the AWD power distribution electronically? The reduction in weight from getting rid of the t-case, engine, transmission, differentials etc. would offset the additional motor weight, at least partially. That would also give a whole lot more underbody room for batteries.